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“Yum. Genmaicha has been one of my favorite teas since my macrobiotic diet days. I also drank a lot of twig tea by Choice Organic; I need to get that again someday.
Anyway it’s...”
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“Got back late last night from my trip to Michigan where I sadly had hardly any tea. So what better way to get back into the swing of things than to drink my favorite tea.
Oh...and some good...”
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“I’m not gutsy enough to put boiled water over matcha, so that didn’t happen. But I needed a caffeinated pick me up to drag me through the rest of the day, so what than genmaicha with an...”
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112 Tasting Notes

I was most excited to try this from my Den’s Tea sampler. This one was really pretty as it steeped.

I like this – it’s nutty and kind of sweet in addition to the obvious cooked vegetable taste. I’m really liking the sampler so far. I’d order this again! I’m also thinking that this would be good iced with some sweetener. Has anyone tried it iced? I need to start thinking about what tea would be good iced, because it’s really starting to get hot out. My days of drinking hot tea are numbered, I fear.

I got off to an exceedingly late start on my tea today, first by sleeping in by over an hour, and then I was delayed by some friends and several games of Settler from Cattan. Regardless, I finally arrived home and decided to try out one of the smaples that I recently got from Den’s Tea. Using 180 degree water, I let this tea steep for a minute for the first infusion. The result is a cloudy green tea, as you would expect due to the matcha. Unfortunately my recent head cold is not completely gone, and the lingering stuffiness prevents me from enjoying the aroma. Anyway, the flavor profile is exceptionally sweet, dominating the foretaste and most of the middle. After letting the tea sit in my mouth for a fe seconds, the nutty flavor begins to shine through, and it is also the major flavor of the aftertaste, lingering pleasantly on the roof of my mouth. All in all, it’s a very plesant tea, and I can’t wait to see how the flavor develops.

The second cup was prepared with near-boiling water, and steeped for 15 seconds. The result is much like a traditional genmaicha, with the nutty flavor dominating and a touch of sweetness. The other thing that I’ve started to notice is that that first cup had a lot of caffiene. I am a bit wired right now. That matcha powder really made a bit difference in the caffiene content of the tea, but that is definitely a plus.

WEll, the bad news is that I got a bit distracted by a bunch of friends coming over, including some that I haven’t seen in months, so I had several more cups of tea without logging them. To summarize the experience, the tea is still delightfully nutty, and the warmer water temperatures that I’ve been susing (somewhere between 160 and 200 degrees) has lead to the development of a bit of astringency, but it’s not overpowering. Teh result is a very pleasant cup of tea, and I’m very pleased with how it tured out. I’m seriously considering getting a larger bag of this in the near future.

Preparation

This is a murky, mysterious green cup of tea! I feel like I’m looking into a swampy portion of the ocean. I smell seaweed, popcorn, barley and a little bit of toast and fish. First sip: I’m extremely surprised at just how salty it is! There is definitely a heavy seaweed note paired with burnt or toasted popcorn. The finish is pure sea water. I feel like I’ve just gulped in the sea – plants, barnacles, fish & all! It’s a little too strong for me to truly appreciate, but I am impressed that such strength comes through in a teabag.

Preparation

I have to say that most of the characteristics you mentioned were to be expected. I would advice to be careful with Japanese tea in general since they tend to go around those taste profiles (a bit astringent, oceanic/seaweed ‘umami’. There are some that differ, but if you want a broader spectrum of green tea flavors go for Chinese green tea. :)

I came home after a fairly stressful day full of rushing around. I’m glad to have the rest of this sample. I used my kyusu to steep it. I love that thing teapot! I feel so relaxed. I always crave popcorn when I drink this! >_

Second steep. I’m not exactly following the directions on steeping, here: 6-8 oz. of water, just short of boiling, 2-3 minute steep time. I’m awful at timing steeps, and I’ve said before that my steeping technique is “hey, this looks done.” So far I haven’t had any problems with that, but maybe I should get better at it.

I wondered what the funny green lumps in this were the first time around: they are apparently popped rice! They look like little popcorn kernels, how cute! This is probably a standard thing in genmaichas but this is the first one I’ve tried, so pardon my surprise. :)

This one is really not resteeping like I thought it would. The sachet did, but this isn’t turning the green I’m expecting. Maybe the matcha all escaped into the first cup? It’s lighter this time around and thinner in taste but the roastiness is still there. It’s also sweeter than the first cup, but there’s less matcha visible in the water. Still not a bad cup, but not as full-bodied as the last.

Steeped this a bit long, and used a bit too much leaf. But I decided to just dump the rest of my sample in, since I wouldn’t have enough for two more anyway. It’s not bad, just a bit more astringent than I would prefer. Still yummy, though. :) I love the smoothness and the thickness that the matcha gives it. I’ve decided I need to get some straight matcha at some point. Maybe in a couple months, after I recover from the massive tea spree I’ve been on the past few months!

Loose
Appearance: dusty matcha green, rice looks unpopped, good sizer med bancha leaf
Aroma when Dry: roasty matcha, sweet (eastern)
After water is first poured: roasty genmai notes jump out, followed by the sweetness (eastern) of matcha
At end of first steep: nutty, roasty matcha
Tea liquor:
At beginning of first steep: dusty green
At end of first steep: murky matcha green
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: Any
Taste:
At first: warm nutty, roasty matcha, more distinct genmai notes close
As it cools? notes all open up, start to compete, tea gets “busy”
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with definite matcha sweetness (eastern) and roasty notes matcha leaves a bit of a fuzzy, drying note

Preparation

I love Genmaicha. Therefore I love this tea. It is the perfect tea this morning to lift me out of morning nausea. ( i find that if i have to get up before I’m ready to be awake I feel sick. ) My insides feel all warm and ‘snuggled’ now.

Preparation

I finally got my sampler in today! If anyone hasn’t gotten around to getting one of these yet, I highly recommend it. It is so excellently packaged, and just made me feel like opening a Christmas present!

This was the first tea of the sampler I tried, and I must say I enjoy it….I think. It’s one of those teas that doesn’t exactly hit the “I want to drink every ounce of this tea that I can” spot, but it is of such good quality and left such a good mouthfeel with me….gotta give props.

The tase almost reminds me of Rice Krispies mixed with an amazing green. It is really neat, and I bet this would be even better with some sushi drool

Preparation

I love genmaïcha. This one is very tasty, but I feel like the added matcha doesn’t add as much flavour as I was expecting. I’d have to compare it side by side with a “normal” genmaïcha. Still, I like it a lot and it has a balanced flavour between the green tea and the toasted rice.